August 26, 2010 -- Houston City Controller Ronald Green announced that a bond sale of $212 million by the City’s Combined Utility System to re-finance previously issued bonds will result in savings of $32 million over nine years.

"Because of the bonds ratings–AA by S&P, AA- by Fitch and Aa2 by Moody’s—the bonds attracted significant investor demand which allowed the city to achieve an extremely low interest rate of 2.06 percent,” says Green. The Royal Bank of Canada served as the lead bank on the transaction, which took place on August 24, 2010. Other firms taking part in the transaction were J.P. Morgan; Siebert, Brandford, Shank & Co.; Jefferies & Co.; Fidelity Capital Markets; and Southwest Securities.

“We are always looking for refunding opportunities to generate savings for the City,” says Green. “The market proved to be incredibly favorable for us on Tuesday, with 10-year municipal rates hitting historic lows due to strong demand from investors and a limited supply of tax-exempt paper.”

The Combined Utility System has, at any one time, $200-300 million in capital projects underway.